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Imogen Halstead (age 25)
Word count: 1151
TW: mentions of violence.
Imogen's POV
"Are you in the ED today?" My brother collects our coffees from the cafeteria. As a medical resident at Gaffney medical centre, I get to ride with my older brother every morning... how fun.
"For the most part. I think I'm with dr Asher this morning though" I sip on the hot drink. I've been at med for three months now and I love it. I can see why my brother prides himself so much. Even if his ego is far too big for his body...
"Alright well, I'm being called for. See you later!" Will walks in the direction of the ED whilst I make my way over to the elevator and up to the nursery. Today should be a great day for saving lives!
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After lunch, I spot my brother talking to Natalie in the break room , "hey Nat" I smile, joining them both. Will gasps, "Not even a hello to your amazing, sexy, incredibly talented big brother? Ouch" he teases. I look to Natalie, "how you can date this guy, I'll never know..." I smirk. She laughs, "me too, babe, me too" we both look at a flabbergasted Will. As we exit the doctors lounge, the sound of screaming from the waiting room fills the department. Maggie looks up as security runs into the ED, "get down!" He yells.
We all duck down and lay on the ground, "everyone shut up!" A younger man's voice yells out. The sound of a gunshot causes multiple screams, and a roof tile to fall on the ground. I look at Will with horror in my eyes, there are sick patients everywhere, they need help not extra trauma...
"You! Get up!" The man yells, dragging April up from the floor. They walk around to our side of the ED, "and... you! Get up, now!" I feel a sharp tug on the back of my lab coat. I'm yanked to my feet and I instantly see Will go to jump up, "stay down!" The man shoots at the ceiling again. He looks around as me and April share horrified looks, "where's the elevator?" He screams, gaining no reply, "where?!" He screams louder. I wince, "that way..." April points to the end of the ED. The man looks around, "if anyone tries to stop us, I will kill them both..." he warns.
After dragging us both into the elevator and threatening to end our lives if we run, we take a short ride to the ICU, only to find that the rest of the hospital have already been notified about the shooter. The man groans loudly at the worried faces, "can we get out there?" He looks at the outside area. I nod, "yeah..." I shakily reply. He throws us onto the gravel and stones, barricading the door shut, "please, whatever you want... we can give you whatever you want" April begs.
"Shut up!" He screams. I flinch, looking down as the pair of us remain in the ground. The distance sound of wailing grows louder and before we know it, there's a swarm of police officers and swat members outside... my brother.
"I have this... thing. I-I can hear my heart beating in my head, and it's driving me frickin' crazy. No one believes me. The doctors... they say it's just ptsd from overseas. But it's not!" The man grits his teeth, pacing the floor back and forth. I put my hand out, "you were in the military" I start, to which he nods. I smile weakly, "my older brother, he served in Afghanistan, 75th rangers" I continue. He nods, "71st" the man looks down. I nod, "thank you for your service" I commend him. He looks out over the balcony, "I can't stand this... noise!" He begs.
April stands up, "we believe you, mr..." she tries to calm him. He sighs, "white, Harrison white" he caves in. I nod, "we can help you, we have technology and we can run a full diagnostic on you. We can give you answers, is that what you want?" I stand up too. Harrison points his gun at me, "you're just like the rest of them! Promising things that isn't true! You won't listen, you just tell me what I wanna hear then kick me to the curb like I'm some kind of monster" he pulls a face as my heart starts pounding out of my chest.
I shake my head, "I promise, we can help you. Me and nurse sexton can help you" I point to April. He thinks about it, lowering his gun for a second, before aiming it at April again. I close my eyes for a brief second, only to be shocked with the sound of a gunshot ringing through the air. I jump, my eyes shooting open, as I see April drop to the floor. I rush over to her, only to be smacked over the forehead with the gun. I too drop to the floor and clutch my head as ringing and white noise fills my ears. All I see is a vivid white light for a few seconds before I regain some composure.
"SWAT! Get your hands in the air!" I hear from above. Within a few seconds I see men move in before gunshots are fired. I duck, still on the ground, and cover my head. After hearing a loud thud to my right I look over to see Harrison on the ground with a bullet between his eyes.
"We need a stretcher!" I hear Maggie yell, I think it's Maggie... "Imogen... c'mon, hey! Can you hear me?" I'm helped off of the ground by what sounds like my brother. After the wave of dizziness wears off, my red head of a brother fills my sight, "I'm fine" I squint at the light. His face is full of worry as he examines my head wound, "I think you have concussion" he concludes. I look around, wincing at the sudden movement, "where's April?" I enquire, flustered and worried.
"She's gonna' be okay..." Will pulls me in for a hug. I close my eyes and let out a deep breath as Ms Goodwin enters the outdoor space, followed by my other brother, "are you okay?" Jay pulls me into a hug. I groan, "I'm good" I nod, hugging him back. We all turn to look at Harrison and I sigh heavily, "71st rangers vet, said his heart was beating inside of his head. He just needed help but no one listened to him..." I look down. Jay keeps his hand on my back, "it's a shame, but it's over and you're safe now. That's all that matters" he shakes his head. I sigh, already taking myself away from the scene as dread fills my stomach. I hope everyone in the hospital is okay... this is a place for compassion not violence.
